March 3, 2011

Japanese beef imports increase 27% 

Japan imported 36,222 tonnes of beef during January, an increase of 27% in contrast to the low volumes from January 2010 and also 10% more than the five-year average.

The growth in imports for the month was mainly because of a rise in frozen beef shipments, jumping 49% on year. Both Australia (14,572 tonnes) and the US (4,429 tonnes) increased their frozen volumes for January, rising by 24% and 100%, respectively, during the same period in 2010.

On the other hand, chilled beef imports from Australia fell by 12% on year, to 9,203 tonnes, impacted by the high Aussie dollar and stringent supplies because of floods in eastern Australia. The decline in Australian volumes was broken even by an increase in imports from the US, kicking 79% on last year, to 3,046 tonnes.

The soft US dollar against the Japanese yen continues to assist imports of US beef, along with the increasing availability of suitable cattle (under 21 months of age) and lessening safety concerns among Japanese consumers towards US beef.